Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Dr Carl Wilkinson
Senior Lecturer
With a varied career to date, including experience in the Armed Forces, telecommunications industry and teaching in the Secondary sector, Carl has a wide and eclectic philosophy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
With a first Degree in Electronics, inclusive of level 6 Maths and Science, coupled with experience of working in telecommunications, both in the Armed Forces and industry, Carl has a large field of life experiences to draw upon. Amalgamated with over 20 years’ experience in Secondary schools, this enables a wealth of knowledge and experience in which to contextualize STEM based pedagogy.
As the main recruiter for STEM based teacher training, this life experience enables the opportunity to see the potential in applicants coming from varied backgrounds and can guide them into becoming outstanding teachers in this crucial area of the National Curriculum. STEM is a fundamental part of the nation’s growth and so it is imperative that our education system recognises this, inclusive of academic and vocational pedagogical practice. To this end, we are developing new teachers who can engage and create interest in their STEM subject so that all children will realise their potential and secure the nations lead in creativity and problem solving.
Current Teaching
As the lead in Secondary age phase STEM, Carl co-ordinates the separate subject strands and recruit Secondary other than PE. He teaches on the undergraduate Primary courses as part of the Maths team.
Research Interests
Currently involved in a range of research projects including;
- A digital technology project using Raspberry Pi to enable cross-curricular collaboration, which is bringing out some interesting findings to do with problem solving and resilience and also the non-committable stance towards cross-curricular activity
- A project researching the impact of residential activity on trainees’ collaborative practice, also in response to developing collaboration
- A project looking into school procurement processes, particularly school furniture, which since the demise of Government research and recommendation, is spiralling into cheap is best, with little consideration towards ergonomic and human factors
- A project looking at educational innovation and the link to surveillance, this is a fresh look at his Doctoral findings and is considering the factors involved in the Government’s Building Schools for the Future investment of new schools in relation to teacher resistance and management surveillance
- Researching the Government’s notion of what makes a ‘good’ teacher, which is collecting data on current trainee competence towards meeting the Teachers’ Standards and the Governments’ reasoning of what ‘good’ means.
